The Christmas period is essential to the survival and growth of the businesses of Irish retailers, but with Irish consumers spending more than €8.5 million per day on online goods, they face a huge challenge in securing consumer spend. That is why many retailers are now taking positive steps in cyberspace to help support and safeguard Irish jobs and businesses.
By branding their products using an ‘eMark’, consumers will be able to identify approved Irish online businesses before making their purchasing decisions.
Increase in online activity
It is estimated that approximately 43 per cent of Irish consumers made purchases online last year. As many as 2.6 million Irish people are regular online shoppers. The overall total of online shopping in Ireland amounted to €4.1bn in 2012, an increase on €2.96bn the previous year. The bad news, however, is that 75 per cent of these purchases went through companies not in Ireland, thereby resulting in less money in the economy and so fewer jobs and businesses.
According to eMark’s Michael McCormack, the online retail market is set to grow to €21 billion by 2017, meaning that now is a crucial time for Irish retailers to act and reclaim their market share from international online retailers.
‘Our goal is to make sure consumers are informed about what companies are Irish and therefore this should lead to more people likely to choose those companies and ultimately support Irish businesses and jobs,’ said McCormack.